This is a trail like no other – it is just you, your boat and the river. And at the end of the trail, to welcome you, is the overnight log cabin, Whiskey Creek – Keurboom’s main attraction, other than the river itself. The cabin is to be found on stilts in a forest clearing away upstream above a crook. It is only accessible by canoe, to one group of canoeists at a time.
The cabin is immensely comfortable and popular. It consists of a large sleeping quarter that opens out on to an even larger timber deck, with an open-air kitchen under a generous veranda roof. Off the veranda is the toilet and hot water shower. A stone braai/lapa (barbeque) has been built into the middle of the deck. The cabin sleeps ten people in four double bunks and two single beds. Food and bedding is all that is needed. The cabin is about a two-hour easy paddle from the slipway near the entrance to the reserve, but one can turn it into something of a mini-expedition, with stops along the way. Or simply pull your boat up on to the bank and never look at it again, until you leave. Swimming and unhurried upstream explorations on foot will continuously distract you.
Choose an off-peak period if quiet is what is needed, as the lower reaches of the river can get busy. Upstream, where powerboats are prohibited, is perhaps a better option. For day visitors, picnic sites with ablution facilities can be found upstream from the slip (only accessible by boat). There are more picnic sites closer to the entrance to the reserve, where no boat is required. Canoes can be hired from the kiosk at the Keurbooms River Bridge.
